Guwahati:
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the fight against child marriage will continue in the state. More than 2,000 people have been arrested in the massive crackdown on child marriage in Assam.
A woman reportedly died by suicide out of fear her father would be arrested for marrying off when she was a minor. Another woman came to a police station and threatened to die by suicide unless her husband and father, who were arrested yesterday, are released.
In Dhubri district, Tamarhat, hundreds of women surrounded a police station and blocked the highway to protest the arrest of a man charged with child marriage.
The massive police crackdown on child marriages continued today in Assam with 2,258 arrests in 4,074 cases across the state. Sarma said the crackdown on child marriage will continue and, if necessary, will continue until the Assam elections in 2026.
Sarma’s statement comes as hundreds of people protested in front of a police station in Assam’s Dhubri district against the arrest of people they said were “innocent”.
The woman who committed suicide was from South-Salamara Mancachar district of Assam. She was a mother of two and her husband died of COVID-19.
In the second incident, a 23-year-old woman came to Golakganj police station and threatened to die by suicide if her husband and father were not released.
“The crackdown on child marriage will continue until the next election. Strict action will be taken against those involved in child marriage,” Sarma told reporters.
“The sections are different. For children under the age of 14, the section cannot be released on bail, and above the age of 14, the section is bailable. We have tracked down 8,100 people involved in child marriage cases. After arrests, there will be awareness created against this social threat,” said Mr. Sarma.
“Before the 2026 polls, the crackdown on child marriage will continue and there will be no child marriage in Assam. Long-term measures will be taken to control the Kazi,” said Sarma.
The highest arrests were in Biswanath, Dhubri, Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Hojai.
There was tension at Tamarhat police station in Dhubri over the detention of a man on charges of child marriage. Hundreds of women blocked the police station and highways.
Police had yesterday arrested Muktar Hussain from Tamarhat on charges of giving marriage certificates to minors.
Hundreds of women from his family and others in the village protested, saying he was just a tailor and not connected to any Kazi.
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